


Team Building Day

by paradiamond



Category: Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Crack, F/M, Gen, Multiple Pov, Rick likes to creatively engage in conflict resolution, Sophia survives AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-07
Updated: 2013-03-07
Packaged: 2017-12-04 14:28:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/711749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paradiamond/pseuds/paradiamond
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Glenn rolls out of bed the next morning, or rather, out of sleeping bag, with a rather forced feeling of enthusiasm. Team Building Day. “Great.” He mutters, blinking in the early morning light.</p><p>Or, Andrea is tired of Lori's 'women's roles' b.s. and decides to do something about it, Rick likes Teamwork, and Daryl thinks stupid people should stay out of the woods.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Team Building Day

**Author's Note:**

> A fill for a kink meme prompt that got kind of out of control.  
> "I want to see the guys doing the housework while the women go out and hunt, keep watch, etc." I kind of ran with this in a weird, cracky direction haha 
> 
> http://twd-kinkmeme.livejournal.com/2684.html?thread=2369404#t2369404
> 
> Also, a note on Sophia. I took some liberties with her character here, but considering the circumstances of the Au and the fact that we mostly just see her being quietly freaked out in the show, I think it's ok, but you guys let me know. I can only apologize for all the sass.

It had been Andrea’s idea. After her women’s roles ‘discussion’ with Lori, she’d been pissed. All women are supposed to stay in the kitchen? Seriously? It doesn’t help that everyone else in the camp seems to be of the same opinion, or is at least ok with it. 

When Daryl had found Sophia in an otherwise abandoned shack a few weeks before, things on the farm had settled down nicely. For most people. Andrea frowns down at the gun she's cleaning, thinking about the group dynamic. It won't do them any good to get into a backwards mindset about labor division. It just won't be productive in the long run to have Providers and Dependents. 

And it also pisses her off. 

She pushes the door of the R.V. open roughly, glaring around at the camp. She spots Maggie and Glenn over by the big tree. She watches them briefly, considering, before making her way over.

***

“ _What?_ ” Lori demands, looking like she’s torn between laughing and pitching a fit. Andrea smiles and settles back against the wall of the farm house, watching the scene play out.

“You heard what I said,” Rick says evenly, standing in the near center of Hershel’s sitting room, his arms crossed. Most of the group is staring at him in varying degrees of disbelief, or in Dale’s case, consideration.

“You can’t be serious,” Shane says, sounding like he honestly just doesn’t believe what he’s saying. “Rick, this isn’t the time-”

Rick puts up his hands. “When will it ever be the time? It’s come to my attention that the distribution of labor here is uneven. What’s expected-” He looks at Andrea. “-is different for different people in the group. So we’re going to switch it up. Consider it a way to make sure that we’ll always have the bases covered.”

The room erupts in a mess of noise. Andrea looks around, trying to gauge the majority opinion. Obviously, once she had convinced Maggie, Maggie had convinced Glenn, who had then talked to Daryl, who for some weird reason tends to listen to Glenn. Andrea eyes him. He doesn’t look happy, but he never really does, so she figures that his lack of loud protest is a point in her favor. Carol just looks confused. Shane is doing his angry/concerned thing, while Dale seems to be quietly discussing the possibility with Glenn like a rational human.

Rick bangs on a table for their attention. Everyone looks up. “Ok we’re talking a vote.”

The vote goes in her favor, and Andrea is feeling better than she had in a long time. There’s only one thing left that she wants, and she gets it not a minute later. 

Rick turns to Lori, who had up until that point been totally silent, refusing to even vote. “Lori?” 

She look up at him, her eyes slightly narrowed and her mouth tight. Then she glances over at Andrea, accusatory, before looking back to Rick. “You know I support you,” she finally grinds out, sounding physically pained. 

She knows it’s immature, but Andrea sends her a big, shit eating grin.

***

Glenn rolls out of bed the next morning, or rather, out of sleeping bag, with a rather forced feeling of enthusiasm. Team Building Day. “Great,” he mutters as he steps out of his tent, blinking in the early morning light. 

“Morning Glenn.” 

He turns to find Andrea standing a few feet away, looking like she’d been totally awake for hours already and holding a huge knife. 

Glenn leans away on instinct. “Uh. Hi.” 

She nods at him, business-like, and struts away, over to where the other women are getting ready. Or in Lori’s case, trying and failing to act like she isn’t seething with anger over the whole situation. Glenn wonders if the day will end with Andrea perishing in a ‘hunting accident’ or not. 

Rick comes over and gives him a friendly slap on the back. “Hey Glenn, I wanted to thank you for your support on this one, you’re a real Team Player.” Glenn can hear the capital letters. He wonders if Rick had been one of those guys that organized Constructive Engagement of Conflict Trust Circles and the like before the world went to hell. Probably. 

Glenn shrugs. “Yeah no problem, I think it’s a good idea for everyone to know how to do a bunch of different stuff, so.” Also Maggie would never let him hear the end of it, but Rick doesn’t need to know that. 

Rick nods. “It really is. And I was hoping that you could do me a favor and set the example for the other men today, you know, take it with a positive spin an’ everything.” 

Glenn glances over to where Shane is leaning against a tree, glaring around at everything. Jimmy stands next to him looking confused and a bit scared. 

“Yeah I can do that,” Glenn says, and Rick claps him on the shoulder again, smiling. 

“Thanks, Glenn. Knew I could count on you.” 

Rick walks away, his steps extra springy. Glenn smiles and goes to see about food, since it might well be the last of what he gets today, depending on what the ladies are able to bring back. 

“Thank God Daryl’s going out with them,” he mutters, under his breath.

“What was that Short Round?”

Glenn jumps, whirling around to face Daryl, who had appeared out of nowhere like the cat Glenn is pretty sure he secretly is. Daryl smirks at him, having been in a better mood on the whole since he’d found Sophia. It’s actually pretty weird. 

“He said he’s glad you’re going with the women into the woods,” a high voice answers, and Glenn sees Sophia poke her head out from behind him. _Speak of the devil_ , Glenn thinks, smiling down at her. 

Sophia walks around Daryl’s legs. “I’m not going though,” she says, adjusting her ponytail.

Daryl snorts. “Damn right. I’m not looking fer’ your lost ass again.” 

Sophia rolls her eyes, something she’d clearly picked up from Daryl, along with swearing, to Carol’s general horror. She had essentially become Daryl’s shadow since he brought her back, following him around, learning how to skin kills, the works. Glenn has to admit that it seems to be doing her a world good to have a male role model that isn’t Ed, even if she is more serious than she was before. Not to mention sassy.

She nods. “I’m keeping watch with Dale today.” 

Glenn smiles again. “Going to keep me and the men safe?” 

She gives him a stern look. “No. I’m just learning, _obviously._ ” 

Glenn blinks. “Um, ok.” 

Daryl barks out a laugh and nudges her with his foot. “Alright, quit torturing the kid an’ git.” 

Sophia smirks Daryl’s smirk and scampers off in the direction of the RV, passing Carol on the way, who gives her a hug before heading over to where Daryl and Glenn are still standing.

“Causing trouble?” she asks, a soft smile gracing her face. Glenn smiles back, in part because he’s still happy to see her looking so happy, but also because he’s trying not to laugh at her outfit.

Daryl, _shockingly_ , makes no effort on that front. 

“The hell is that supposed to be?” He points at her legs.

Carol gives him a fake stern look and raises her chin. “It’s my hunting outfit.” 

She’s wearing what appear to be Rick’s or maybe Shane’s pants, tucked into massive rain boots with duct tape holding them closed at the tops. Massive sun hat, backpack with one of the big knives they found on the road sticking of of the top, and gloves. 

“I’m just being careful, I don’t know much about the woods, and I want to be prepared,” she says, putting her hands on her hips. 

“What’s with the hat?” 

“Sun. If I’m going to hunt, I’ll need to see.” 

Daryl makes a crack about the likelihood of her catching anything on her first try, and she replies teasingly. Glenn almost rolls his eyes at the cuteness of it all. 

“Well, I’m gonna go,” he says, edging away. 

They don’t notice. 

***

Rick will be the first to admit that this might have been a mistake. 

Two hours ago, when they had watched the women and Daryl heading off into the woods with varying levels of enthusiasm, Shane had remarked that they would ‘be back soon with nothing to show’ and ‘how hard could laundry be?” 

Very hard, apparently. 

“What do you think this is for?” Glenn asks, holding up a metal tool. 

Rick frowns over at it. He had obviously done laundry before the world had gone crazy, but only with a machine, and not very often since he got married. 

“Maybe it doesn’t go with the washing stuff?” 

Shane snorts from his position as chief clothes-pot stirrer. A position that had become necessary when the clothes started to stick together. 

Jimmy scratches his head, getting soap in his hair. “I guess it’s like, a scrubber?” 

From on top of the RV Sophia’s high tittering laugh floats down to them. Rick looks up at her, perched next to Dale. 

“Care to give a hint?” 

She smiles. “No.” 

Shane scoffs. “Girl, you best tell us what you know. You’ve been up there all day laughin’ and now it’s time for it to end y’ hear?” he calls up to her. It would probably have been more intimidating if he weren’t up to his elbows in soap water. 

Sophia regards him for a few seconds before nodding. “But Officer Shane, if I help you, how will you learn?” Rick strongly suspects that Daryl had told her about Shane wanting to give up the search for her, since she seems to be punishing him particularly harshly. 

Shane glares up at her, looking like he’s strongly considering his ‘don’t hit a child’ rule. Rick steps in. “Thanks Sophia, we’ll take it from here.” 

Dale glances over, looking like he’s about to explode into laughter.

Shane notices. “Something to say old man?” 

“No, no. You just keep on destroying the clothes.” 

Shane growls and jumps up, knocking over the basin. Water and clothes go everywhere, all over the ground. They all look at it. 

Glenn clears his throat. “Well, then.” 

Shane puts his hands on his hips and just stares down at it.

“Rick.”

“Yeah.”

“This is the stupidest thing we’ve ever done.” 

***

Dale spots her first, but he waits for a minute to see if Sophia will spot her too, and she does.

“Mom’s back!” she shouts, pointing towards the tree line. “Human, don’t fire!.” She adds, true to the recently added rules of watch. Confirm first, shoot second. It was Daryl's idea.

Rick stops what he’s doing, which appears to be scrubbing a pair of jeans by hand with dish soap, and looks up at Dale. 

“Roger that, little miss,” Dale says, to put Rick’s mind at ease. 

Carol approaches slowly, waving up to her daughter and Dale. Sophia waves back, excited, but far too responsible to abandon her post. Dale chuckles, adjusting his hat and sending a look to the ground below. Clothes were still everywhere in various states of filthiness. 

Rick comes forward to meet her, Dale suspects in part to block the clothing disaster from her view. “Hey Carol. Good hunt?”

She laughs. “I guess you could say that. I tripped on a root and twisted my ankle a bit. It’s nothing serious, but we thought it would be best if I not aggravate it. Not like I was catching much of anything in any case.” 

He nods. “Lori’s not with you? I thought she was your partner.”

“She was, but I don’t think she’s going anywhere soon. She and Andrea are a bit...competitive, and Andrea and Maggie are one hell of a team, you should see them.” 

Dale watches Shane roll his eyes. “Yeah? We’ll see what they bring back then.”

Carol eyes him, amusement creeping up her features. “Oh I don’t know, they’re on a bit of a rampage. I wouldn’t be surprised if Andrea just didn’t bring down a deer through sheer force of will.”

“They’ll be back within the hour,” Shane says, stubbornly. 

“Ask them how the washing is going momma,” Sophia says snidely, smug as a cat with a canary. Shane narrows his eyes at her, but Dale can see he's not about to make threats in front of her mother. 

Rick laughs, though it’s strained. “Aw common Sophia, don’t rat us out in front of your mom.” 

Carol shoots her a look. “Excuse me miss?” 

Sophia shrinks down a bit. “I- they’re doing real good.” 

“Really well.” 

“Really well,” she says, with all the exasperation of Daryl Dixon. 

Glenn pokes his head up from where he’d been scrubbing. “Actually Carol, it’s kind of a disaster.” Shane glares daggers at him. 

She finally takes a good look around, her eyebrows shooting up. “I...see,” she says, eyeing the wet piles and buckets scattered around the area. “And I suppose Jimmy ran away then.” 

Dale chuckles. “He left about an hour ago. There was some overly dramatic talk about Hershel and ‘house responsibilities’.” 

Rick runs a hand through his hair. “We may be a bit out of our depth, but we have it under control.” 

Carol nods, looking unconvinced. “Well, I’m going to go get cleaned up and see if Patricia needs any help. If in about...three hours you think you might need some help, let me know.” 

She turns, nodding to Sophia, who sends her a smile that’s tinged with a smirk before heading off towards the house.

Shane grumbles. “Three hours. We’ll be done in one.” 

Sophia snickers. “Well since you’ve been here for five already I wouldn’t count of that.” 

Shane growls, only to be cut off by Rick, who’s running his hands through his hair over and over.

“Girls, please. Play nice.” 

***

If someone had asked her a year ago if she could ever see herself in this particular situation, Lori Grimes would have called them crazy, and probably would have said disparaging things about their family and upbringing for suggesting it. _Especially considering Daryl_ , she thinks as she struggles to climb up and out of the ravine she’d landed herself in.

“You sure you don’ need-”

“Yes, Daryl, I’m sure,” she says, through her teeth.

“Fine I’m just offerin’, it aint like you’re doin’ too great,” he grouses from his position of leaning up against a tree, watching her from above.

They’d made a deal when Carol had gone back that as soon as she admits defeat, they’ll go back too. 

But last time Lori saw her, Andrea had been well on her way to catching something. So she’s staying. 

“I don’ think you should grab that-”

Too late. The vine she’d been pulling on snaps and Lori tumbles back down into the water, letting out a stream of less than ladylike phrases. She lets herself lay there for a second, glaring up at the sky.

Daryl suddenly splashes down next to her, making her jump. He gives her a look that clearly means he finds her stupid. “You hurt?” 

She sits up. “Hurt pride I guess.” 

“Where’s yer weapon?” 

“Oh.” She looks around. “Well. Ok, so I’ll find that and then we’ll go that way instead.” Lori says, pointing in an arbitrary direction. 

He makes a low sound of annoyance. “You know you aint’ gonna catch anything right? I thought you said this was stupid.”

Lori scowls, pushing herself up with shaking arms. “It _is_.” 

***

Maggie wishes she could say that she feels like a triumphant female warrior emerging from the wilderness after a successful hunt, but the fact of the matter is Andrea ran her ragged and they caught next to nothing. So. There’s that. 

Still, their (Maggie’s) meager kill hangs limply from Andrea’s hand as they approach the farm, dripping blood. She frowns at it, reminded why she so seldom uses the hunting skills her daddy taught her when she was a kid. 

“Lori’s going to be so embarrassed,” Andrea says, for what is probably the third time in twenty minutes. Maggie fights the urge to roll her eyes. 

“Yeah. But at least she didn’t shoot any people.” 

“That was one time!” Andrea turns on her, but she’s smiling. Evidently too happy about winning to be annoyed by anything. 

Maggie smiles back. Now that they’re nearing home, she’s feeling a bit more charitable. 

Sophia heralds their arrival, which is cute, and Maggie cranes her neck to see Glenn whip his head up at the sound of her name, which is even cuter. 

She watches him think twice about waving to her, his hand hovering in mid-air, before she takes pity on him and waves first. 

They reach the men, and Maggie’s first thought is apparently pretty close to Andrea’s, except that Andrea has no issues vocalizing it.

“What the hell happened here?”

Rick laughs, though the sound is so strained Maggie wonders if he’s going to start crying or something next. “We’re just having some technical problems, it’s fine, we have have it under control.” 

Maggie glances over at Glenn, who is slowly shakes his head, eye wide. She bites her lip to keep from laughing. 

“Did Carol get back ok?” 

Shane scoffs. “Yup. She did all right.” He sends a glare over to the porch, which upon inspection is currently home to Carol and Patricia. 

Carol gives a little wave and cups a hand over her mouth. “One more hour Shane. You’re doing great.” 

“Thanks Carol,” Shane calls back, his voice dripping sarcasm. 

“So uh, Andrea, what have you got there?” Dale asks from on top of the RV.

Andrea holds up the mutilated rabbit. “Dinner.” 

Shane rolls his eyes, muttering. “Not likely.” 

Andrea looks at it. “Hm. You know, you might be right Shane.” She tilts her head. “But you know, as the provider, I don’t have to cook the food, I just have to bring it in.” 

Shane ogles her. “What?”

“I said, figure it out!” And with that she walks away, dropping the rabbit into Ricks waiting arms. 

As she passes Glenn, she raises her arm, evidently for a high five, which he gives her, looking stunned. They all watch as she makes her way across the yard and into the house. 

“Well then,” Dale says, his expression contemplative. 

Glenn turns back to Maggie. “What just happened?”

She shrugs. “I think she found her inner female warrior today.” 

***

By the time Daryl makes it out of the woods with an actively bitching Lori Grimes, it’s full dark and he’s tired of dragging her ass around. He has come to the conclusion that it’s not women, or asians, or gays or any other group in particular that he hates. It’s just people. 

People are stupid. 

“Hurry up!” he yells back to her, a few feet behind. She makes some kind of weird noise and keeps on talking. He tunes her out again. Just as long as she’s still walking. Rick may like him but if he comes back without his wife he’s pretty sure that won’t matter.

“Daryl- I think we’re going the wrong way.” 

He stops, counting to ten. Lori catches up with him. “Daryl? I really think-”

“I can see. The farm,” he practically growls.

She looks, probably for the first time. “Oh. I guess we came out in a different place than we-”

“Went in. Yeah.” He glances at her. “You got pretty turned around.” 

Lori hums. “Well, I think that might have been Carol’s fault.”

He resolves to just maintain silence until they reach other humans who would object to her murder.

They make it to the house, approaching from the back, and swing around to find the group in their usual spot. Rick, Glenn and Shane are all standing over a simmering pot, staring down at it with varying expressions of disapproval. The women are nowhere to be seen, probably up in the house, and Dale is perched up on the RV with Sophia, who catches his eye and send a meaningful look down to the pot. 

He goes over. Stares.

“Not to ask the obvious but that aint’ the pot you used to wash the clothes is it?” 

Glenn looks up. “Yeah but don’t worry, we’re using different water,” he says with complete confidence.

Daryl just takes a moment to appreciate the fact that Glenn felt the need to say that. 

“Well did’ya rinse it out after?” 

Rick looks down at it. “Ah. See- no. Not really. That would probably explain the...foaming.” 

Next to him, Lori chuckles. “Oh Rick.” 

Daryl rolls his eyes. “An’ Carol wasn’t here to stop this?”

“Momma did the laundry, and then Rick said they’d take care of the food.” Sophia smiles. “But then this happened. I think it was Shane’s fault.”

“Look little girl I’ve had it up to here with-”

“Shane!” Lori exclaims, giving him a look. “She’s just a kid.” 

“More like a terror,” he mutters, darkly. Daryl smirks. Trust Sophia to get under a grown man’s skin.

“I heard that,” she pipes. 

“Good!”

“Shane!”

Daryl leaves them to their fight, heading for the house with the few kills he’d managed to score even with all Lori’s noise. 

Carol looks up as he enters the kitchen, skinned and cut rabbit under her hands. He raises an eyebrow at it. She smiles. “Maggie. I confiscated it when Rick started talking about cooking. His heart’s in the right place on this but we need to eat.” 

Daryl snorts, depositing his squirrels onto the counter. “Maggie, huh?”

“Apparently so. You might consider training her for real. I think she has potential.”

"Maybe." He nods, considering. "Sophia's probably better though."

Rick sticks his head in. “Carol, hi. There, uh, might be an issue with the water. We have it under control but-” he trails off, looking tired.

Carol turns to him, an amused smile on her face and squirrel blood on her hands. “I’ll boil some water in here?”

He nods. “That might be for the best.” 

Daryl stretches, leaning back to put his elbows on the counter “So Ranger Rick, what did we learn today?” 

Rick ducks his head, laughing. “Well, I’d like to say that we learned that we’re a versatile group that can handle anything-” Daryl snorts, looking away. Rick nods, smiling over at him. “-but I’d probably be lying.”

“Got that right.”

“Oh I don’t know,” Carol says, ever the optimist. “It was only the first day. Maggie caught something, and you all didn’t actually destroying anything important.” 

Daryl gives her a skeptical look. “Rousin’ endorsement, that. ‘Failure to totally fail’.” 

She makes a face at him. “I’m just saying. It was a good idea.” 

Rick nods to her, looking grateful. “Thanks. Alright, well I better go back out there to stop them fighting and dump out the soap water.”

Carol blinks. “Soap...?”

“Don’t worry about it.” 

Daryl looks at her. “They ‘have it under control,’” Carol laughs, Daryl and Rick following soon after. 

They’re still going when Lori walks in, her face pinched. “Has anyone seen Carl?”

“Not since...this morning.” 

They lapse into awkward silence. Eventually, Daryl stands, stretching. “Well, he best not be in the woods, that’s all I’m gonna say.”

They’d had enough of that to last them a few days at least.


End file.
